United States Policy Toward Myanmar and the Donald Trump Era

The decision implemented by Donald Trump last year to reduce USAID aid caused support provided to opposition groups, dissident media, and refugees to be cut in half. Additionally, with the decision that drew criticism from human rights organizations, the Temporary Protected Status of 4,000 Burmese who took refuge in the US was revoked.

The extent toized to which rare earth elements in Myanmar will be functional for the US continues to be a subject of debate among experts. Located mostly in conflict zones controlled by ethnic insurgent armies, these resources are currently extracted by Chinese companies operating in the region and transported to China for processing. On the other hand, it is considered doubtful that the US will receive meaningful cooperation from the Myanmar government in the fight against the scam industry. Although some operations have been organized against larger camp areas, criminal networks are dispersed into more remote regions.

Horsey states that talking with Nay Pyi Taw is not wrong in itself, and that what Washington demands and what it will offer matters. Expressing that focus should be placed on critical issues such as humanitarian access and an end to airstrikes against civilians, the expert emphasizes that coordinating with other governments in the region, including China, in the fight against fraud will be the most effective way. In Myanmar, which has been shaken by civil war since 2021, a high-ranking US official had met with Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing for the first time in years.